


CB2 FILES: 1- Vala Imourda: Fox's Fire

by zoruas



Series: CB2 FILES [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: 3:, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-12 01:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoruas/pseuds/zoruas
Summary: FUCK that stormbitch





	CB2 FILES: 1- Vala Imourda: Fox's Fire

The house was on fire.

The light of the flames licking at the walls and rooftop cast a soft glow against Vala Imourda’s face as she took a few steps back. Her vision was blurry, her mind clouded- a serum of Lyr ran through her veins. She felt her willpower slipping the moment it was injected, and though she could still control every limb in her body, it wasn’t with full freedom- every movement she made had to work towards the orders she had been given. There was no choice involved in the matter.

Her orders had been simple; right after a small but quick struggle in the hallway, and an injection into her neck, a cold blue gaze had pierced into hers and given her directions:

“Kill Jason, and set the house on fire. Deal with Amandi.”

With a twinge of bitterness, Vala regarded the second order: She had known that there was no way she could kill Amandi. She probably didn’t even expect her to return from the fight with him. After all they’d been through, she was just another pawn- something to be utilized and discarded when her use ended.

The uncomfortable guard uniform Vala was wearing was growing warmer and warmer as the fire continued to rage and roar. The house was fairly ancient- Amandi had mentioned once that Jason’s family had owned it for a while. The street around her was barren and bathed in darkness. Crackling pierced the silence every now and then, but otherwise, every house seemed to be empty. How long had she been planning this? Had she evacuated the citizens living in this section of the city?

Vala was dreading the moment Amandi would sense something was wrong. With increased force, she tried to shift her body in any way possible, but her mind clouded again and the signal was promptly cut off. She had no intention to continue this crime, and the serum was still in full force.

After a few moments of pained watching, Vala wondered if the two kids were in there. They were pretty young, but Amandi had shown her pictures. She was one of the first who saw them when he and Jason brought them home. While approaching the house, she had seen a tall looking shadow in the window- Jason, probably. The kids might be outside. Amandi...couldn’t die.

Suddenly, a soft breeze swept through the street, and the sound of a presence touching the ground behind her finally allowed her to look over her shoulder. Amandi was standing there, eyes wide and shining with a mixture of anger and shock and the glow of the flames.

“Vala-”

With the touch of his hand on her shoulder, her body jolted- she twisted away from his grasp and lunged at his arm, but with a supernatural speed, he grabbed both of her arms and twisted them into a lock so she was facing him. His eyes dark with fury, hers empty- an effect that Adeline was still trying to work out.

“Vala, what happened? What are you doing here?” His voice was tight with urgency. “Who did this?”

She struggled against him for a few seconds, but his grip was made of steel. After a few moments of heavy breathing and muted movement, he let her go and pushed her aside. She hit the grass and stayed down, eyes trained on his form as he walked into the fire. The flames parted and shifted out of his way as he moved through the house.

There was no way Jason was alive. That fire had been burning for too long, and she hadn’t seen anyone leave the house from the moment it started. Her gaze blurred again and she laid her head against the grass, which was mysteriously cool despite being so close to the embers. The edges of her vision grew dark with smoke.

A scream ripped through the air, full of anguish, and she watched as the smoke curling towards the sky flared up momentarily and golden light washed over the house. The windows began to rumble and shake, and Vala tensed up. Amandi had found him. With a renewed force, the golden light grew brighter, and she faded from consciousness. 

\------------------

The first thing Vala noticed when she woke up was that she could move freely again. The second was a soft pressure against her face.When she blinked her eyes slowly and moved to sit up, the pressure lifted up and away a bit, and she was able to tilt her head upwards. Her eyes widened at the sight- Adeline was leaning above her, her usually hard features softened in the distant glowing light of the guard cars that had gathered down the street. She was running her fingers through her hair. The quiet buzz of guard activity overwhelmed Vala for a few moments and she pulled away quickly into a sitting position, breathing shallow.

“Good job, Imourda.” Adeline said coolly. “The serum worked. Unfortunately, its use expired before we could get here.” With a strange look on her face, she slowly leaned forward, and Vala’s nails painfully sunk into the ground below as she clenched her fists.

Adeline’s lips graced the side of her face as she whispered, “Jason is dead. His body was found right in the center of the home, burnt to a crisp. He was asleep while the fire was being set. You’ve torn apart Amandi’s family and advanced my research by quite a bit.” She paused for a few seconds. “I can sense your hesitation. You did the right thing, Vala. This is the way things should be. In fact…”

She pulled away, and Vala felt a shiver run down her spine at just how happy she looked. 

“I think you’ve saved them from a much, much worse fate. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

Vala shook her head numbly, and found her voice after a few seconds. “N-no, Adeline. This w-wasn’t helping, and it wasn’t right, this was murder. How could you do this to him? How could…” She faltered a bit, “How could you do this to me?”

Adeline narrowed her eyes dangerously. “I think I did you a favor, Vala. You’re not going to survive for long out here unless you learn how. This is the way things should have been from the beginning. I helped you, and you helped me. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” Vala snarled. “None of this is fine! You hurt me, you hurt Amandi, you killed Jason! Their house is u-up in flames! What would the guard say about this? Would they really approve of you killing people to get your way?”

“I didn’t kill anyone.” Adeline said a small smile growing on her face. “You did.”

“You forced me.” Vala breathed. “I would never, ever do something like this.”

“And who’s going to believe you? Who’s going to vouch for you? Amandi?” She made an exaggerated show of looking around. “I don’t see him here.”

“See, Vala, that’s always been your issue.” She rose to her feet and started to pace around, arms neatly folded behind her back; her voice grew louder and louder with every word. “You give and give and give and expect everyone to do the same in return, as if everyone is obligated to take on your same childlike view of the world and the people around you the second they meet you. Was it stupidity? I’m not sure. Maybe you’re just naive. I‘m sure you're very prideful, and I’m sure you think you’re worth so much after all of our time together, but you’re not. You’re not worth more than a cause, and when there’s survival to take into account, Amandi wasn’t either. So I’ll give you a choice. You can continue on with your life, erase Amandi and Jason from your mind, continue to appreciate the fact that your staying alive is a privilege, or…”

Adeline smiled again and drew a finger across her throat.

Vala put her head in her hands and stared at the grass below for a few moments, heart pounding. She was going to die. She entered the guard expecting freedom, choice, and safety, and here she was, one of the only people she trusted threatening to kill her if she didn’t keep quiet. Anger surged through her and she moved to stand up, brushing off the grass from her uniform.

“So?” Adeline said smugly.

“Fuck you.” Vala hissed. “Fuck you, and fuck your twisted logic. I made a mistake letting this go on for so long. I’m not going to play your game, and everyone is going to know about your inhumane experiments and all the crimes you’ve committed.”

“Oh, really?” The smile slipped off of Adeline’s face, and her hand slowly trailed toward her belt. Vala’s gaze stayed on it- she had seen her pull this move countless times while in the field; taking out her spear while attempting to provide some kind of distraction to preserve the element of surprise.

She reached towards her own belt, looking for her sword. Her hands grew numb with shock when she realized it was empty- Adeline didn’t send her to get her weapons before leaving for the house. Had she known this would happen?

“Having second thoughts, Imourda?” Adeline smirked as she pulled out her spear and Vala sank into a fighting stance. “You could never beat me in our spars. How can you possibly escape with your life now? Seems like Jason isn’t going to be the only one who’s ending their life in ashes.” Her voice was loud, booming, and commanding, each word filled with venom.

Vala didn’t respond. Adeline’s smirk faded into a scowl and she took a few experimental steps towards her, jabbing her spear forward. Vala darted to the side and attempted a kick- her body was still weak from the smoke she had inhaled under the serum, and every move she made felt groggy and slowed down. 

Adeline caught her leg easily and shoved her to the ground. She pressed her boot on top of Vala’s chest, leaning over her knee to stare at her. 

“That was pathetic. Disregarding this entire situation, if one of our instructors saw that feeble excuse for a battle, you’d be dead either way.” She narrowed her eyes and pressed down harder, earning a gasp from Vala as she began clawing at her leg. 

After a few moments of silence, Adeline straightened again and pointed the tip of her spear at Vala’s neck. “Get up.”

“W-what?” Vala whispered.

“Get up, Imourda. Now!”

Adeline grabbed her arms roughly, twisted her around in an imprisonment position, and shoved her towards the house, where the fire had stopped. A few stray embers lay here and there, caught on small pieces of wood. 

In front of one of them, she pushed Vala onto her knees once again. The flames in front of her crackled and twisted, a thin line of smoke curling towards the starry night sky. 

“An eye for an eye.” Adeline said flatly.

“What are you d-doing?” Vala inquired, panic edging into her voice. “What do you mean, Adeline?”

“You’ve shown me the light. Maybe death isn’t the way, after all.” Reaching forward slowly, she grabbed the end of the plank of wood, the embers dancing around her white glove. Turning Vala around again, their gazes locked. Brown met blue, tension apparent in both.

“No, no, no, please, Adeline. No.” Vala struggled weakly as she reached into her hair and yanked her head back.

“I’m sorry, Vala.” After a few moments punctuated only by Vala’s shallow breathing, Adeline dropped the wood engulfed in flames onto her face and let go.

Vala collapsed onto the ground immediately, letting out a scream as she clawed at the flames and her quickly burning skin. Her world turned red with pain and light as the fire danced across her face mercilessly and Adeline walked away, spear trailing on the ground below her.

**Author's Note:**

> FUCK that stormbitch


End file.
